The process of finding and recovering a stolen horse is not as simple as "1-2-3." When a horse is stolen, an owner will run the gamut of emotions from fear to anger to grief... and beyond. No matter how much you prepare for theft by applying a brand, inserting a microchip, posting a sign, you can never be prepared if your horse is actually stolen. These steps are theft prevention measures and are proven to work, but nothing is guaranteed. Recovery isn't guaranteed either.

When a report is filed with Stolen Horse International (SHI), aka NetPosse.com, volunteers will step in and work with you throughout the difficult process of searching for the horse. And while there are many horses listed on the site as still missing, we do not ever quit until the horse is found. On the flip side, many do not think about what truly happens when a horse is located. There is a widespread assumption that you take a trailer and pick up the horse, and life goes on.

No one can dispel this idea more quickly than Debi Metcalfe, founder of SHI, a nonprofit organization. Her story has been told through other articles on Equestrian Network Magazine. Bottom line is that she and her husband agreed to search for their stolen horse Idaho for one year. Whether they found Idaho or not, at the end of those 52 weeks, the Metcalfes would return to life as normal.

Reality was not as expected 51 weeks later when Idaho was located. There was doubt when the Metcalfes received the tip because there had been so many false leads, but there was never any question as to whether or not they would bring the mare home. And they did.

However, a lot can change in a year or five years from the time a horse is stolen. People move, get divorced, lose income or have other life factors that might influence the outcome of a missing horse case.

Criminal theft cases are more clear-cut than civil thefts. When a horse, like in Idaho's situation, has obviously been stolen from a pasture by thieves, authorities will investigate the matter as a criminal act. Once found, the owner should be able to retrieve it without jumping through too many hoops. However, a civil case often has to be resolved in court.

When NetPosse receives a call that a horse has been located and the owner has a legal right to retrieve that horse, the first thing we usually tell that person is, "Go get your horse." PERIOD. Anything else can be worked out after the horse is back in your possession. Of course, each case is handled individually, and this advice might not always apply.

The article contains stories from victims who listed their horses with NetPosse. Cheyenne's story is a criminal case; Halo's is a civil dispute; and Sundance's began as civil but then was upgraded to stolen. From every story something can be learned, and we relay these stories in the hope that they will help give other victims hope and possibly a few answers.

Somewhere Down the Road - Cheyenne Stolen in North Carolina

A black and white pinto pony named Cheyenne was stolen from a young boy on September 23, 2001, after thieves lifted a gate off its hinges. Cheyenne's owners reported his disappearance to local authorities and then submitted a report to NetPosse.com. Debi Metcalfe immediately began working the case, creating a webpage for the pony and sending out Idaho Alerts, the horse community's Amber Alert. Unfortunately, there were no leads. Life moved on - and so did the Tilleys.

When Cheyenne was stolen, the Tilleys resided in Pineola, North Carolina, but eventually, the family moved to Vale, and their son continued growing into a young man. Though they never forgot about their son's pony, like many owners, they simply expected to never see Cheyenne again. Imagine their surprise when they received a phone call from Debi Metcalfe five years later.

Heidi Courneya, owner of The Lit'l H Ranch, was casually surfing the Internet on a November morning in 2006 when she made a startling discovery. The pony she had named Chief was featured as "stolen" on NetPosse.com. Only two months before, Heidi had purchased Chief for her pony riding business. Heidi did the only thing she could. The bewildered lady picked up the phone and called Debi at SHI headquarters.

Alesha Tilley was stunned to receive the call from Debi that Cheyenne had been found. More amazing, though, was that her family had moved to the very town where the pony was located. Her immediate thought was relief, knowing that Cheyenne was alive and safe. Evaluating her life five years later, she knew her son was too big for him, and he was well cared for. While they wanted to see Cheyenne, the Tilleys did not plan on bringing the pony home.

ask for help. Immediately, we began working the case, sending out alerts and making contacting sources.

The first break came when the lessee admitted the mare was not deceased. She had sold the mare in December because Halo had an injury she was unwilling to spend the time treating. Not once did she think about the signed agreement with Lisa. From this lead, Halo was tracked to a sale barn in West Virginia. A gentleman saw the mare being run through but let her pass. As she was about to step foot onto a trailer bound for another auction in Ohio, the man couldn't shake the feeling that this was a good horse, so he bought her.

Twenty-four hours later, with the help of an outstanding department of agriculture investigator, Debi was able to call Lisa with the wonderful news - Halo had been located.

man that agreed to work with the horses at the barn where he boarded his horses while he was laid off from the pipeline. This man had all the right answers to all Diane's questions, and he would be close enough for Diane to see the progress.

Diane visited Sundance, and another horse he took with him, several times during the 30-day agreement. However, she could hardly catch this trainer at the barn, and she soon discovered that he was not riding the horses as he claimed. Since Diane had paid for 30 days, she retrieved the one horse and allowed Sundance to stay at the barn for one more month after renegotiating.

Unfortunately, by the end of July, Diane realized the magnitude of her mistake. The trainer was gone and so was Sundance. The good news was that they hadn't disappeared without a trace. Diane would leave messages on the trainer's cell phone, and he'd conveniently call in the middle of a night with his responses. For months, he strung Diane along, saying that he'd been called back to work unexpectedly and Sundance was at a friend's in Kentucky. He refused to give her an address.

By late October, Diane had had enough. She was able to find out who the friend was in Kentucky, and she contacted NetPosse to list Sundance. The trainer's friend said he'd been given the gelding in August in lieu of a debt, but he'd recently sold Sundance at a large trail ride in Missouri. Diane had missed finding her horse by a matter of weeks.

According to this man, a nice couple from Nebraska had bought the palomino. While volunteers were busy distributing the only lead Diane had, she pushed on, contacting every person that might provide a clue as to Sundance's location.

Three months later, Diane had a breakthrough. She discovered that the man in Kentucky had thrown her a false lead. A farrier in Kentucky recalled his client mentioning he'd sold that palomino gelding to a lady in Iowa that had been at the Missouri trail ride. It didn't take long for Diane to get back on the phone and burn up the lines. Her calls finally led her to the woman in Iowa, and she said, "I think you have my horse."

After talking for a few minutes, Nicole (not her real name) was almost convinced because Diane was able to give her details from the Coggins papers she had on the horse she called "Seven" - a name given to him by the Kentucky man from the movie "A Man from Snowy River." Finally, Diane directed Nicole to Sundance's page on NetPosse.com, and she relented, "I have your horse."

Since the Silkes had planned on selling some horses, it seemed like the easiest and least painful solution to all involved was to allow Nicole to keep Sundance, but he was worth several thousand more than Nicole had paid for him in Missouri. Diane was willing to drop his price significantly, but Nicole had just purchased a two-year-old and simply couldn't come up with extra cash.

In many jurisdictions, Sundance's case would have been treated as civil, and Diane would have had a lengthy court battle on her hands to reclaim him. However, authorities recognized that the trainer took possession and sold a horse that he had no legal entitlement to. Therefore, traveling to Iowa and loading Sundance on a trailer back to Indiana should have been simple. But it wasn't.

Diane was torn. Over the next few days, she and Nicole discussed the situation with associates and friends, trying to find the best answer. Debi stressed to Diane that she needed to at least make the trip and decide how she felt once she saw Sundance. So with Debi's encouragement and her husband's support, Diane picked up the phone and told Nicole, "We're coming to get him. We'll be there tomorrow." Several times during the drive, Diane told her husband Jack that she didn't know if this was the right thing.

Upon arriving that night, Nicole insisted she come see Sundance at her farm before checking into the hotel. Tired and reluctant, Diane finally consented. However, when she saw the palomino gelding in the stall, she said, "That's not him."

Debi and arrived at Heidi's farm, Alesha discovered the truth found in Debi's personal experience with horse theft and decade of operating Stolen Horse International. She couldn't leave the pony behind. Although the Tilley's had every legal right to take Cheyenne without question, they generously reimbursed Heidi for her purchase of Cheyenne, now in his 20s, and trailered the pony home to be retired. Alesha never wanted to worry about him again. Not for one moment has she regretted that choice, but she knows that she would have always wondered if she hadn't heeded Debi's advice.

On the other hand, reclaiming Halo would require a court battle because a written agreement had been violated. However, Debi insisted Lisa visit Halo and make a decision about how to proceed. When Lisa did visit the farm the next week, she sobbed as she hugged her horse. At that point, she had to make the toughest decision ever... she had to walk away.

Lisa decided to allow Halo to remain where she was but keep in touch with her new owners. It was the best thing for everyone involved.

Diane traveled a long way to find Sundance, but when she looked into the eyes of Nicole's gelding, she didn't see the horse she had ridden and loved for a decade. Right then she decided that she would leave him there and work something out with Nicole. But Nicole wouldn't let her do that. She encouraged Diane to come back and ride Sundance the next morning.

When Diane arrived on Saturday, Nicole had turned out Sundance and couldn't catch him. When Diane approached the pasture and called to the gelding in a no-nonsense tone, he immediately came to her. But still she wasn't feeling a connection.

The group took Sundance to an arena, and Nicole rode him for a few minutes before insisting that Diane ride. She had heard horror stories of him bucking, kicking a hole in a trailer, and just being unmanageable during his absence from her life. Finally, she mounted Sundance, and within two turns around the arena, she was crying. All her senses told her that this was her horse.

Nicole and Diane shared some more tears. Diane felt awful for taking Sundance, but Nicole wanted her to have closure. She loaded Sundance with the agreement that if he got home and Diane didn't feel he'd work out for her, then at the next Missouri ride in June, Nicole could take him back to Iowa.

Within a few days of being back on Indiana soil, Diane realized that no matter how hard the decision was, it was the right one. Sundance was back to being his old self, following her around the yard and hanging out with Jack in his workshop. Sundance knows he is home.

The road to recovering a stolen or missing horse is not an easy one. It can take years, be emotionally exhausting and financially draining. It is our hope that working with NetPosse can lift some of the burden from the horse owner by providing information, contacts and other people that share your love of horses. Our NetPosse volunteer network can be invaluable in the support and assistance we provide. No victim has to make this journey alone. If you have a missing horse or know someone who does, please have them contact us at stolenhorse@netposse.com or www.netposse.com.

To read other recovery stories, visit www.NetPosse.com or to read more about these stories, visit these links:
http://www.netposse.com/stolenmissing/cheyenneNCsept01.htm
http://www.netposse.com/stolenmissing/missing_1/HaloFeverWVmissingDec06.htm http://www.netposse.com/stolenmissing/SundanceMOoct07.htm